Obama Vows Massive New Public Works

Gee, what a shocker.

From the exultant new New Dealers at the New York Times:

(Click to enlarge)

Obama Pledges Public Works on a Vast Scale

By PETER BAKER and JOHN M. BRODER
Published: December 6, 2008

WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama committed Saturday to the largest public works construction program since the creation of the interstate highway system a half-century ago as he seeks to put together a plan to resuscitate the reeling economy.

With unemployment on the rise and no end to the recession in sight, Mr. Obama began highlighting elements of the economic recovery program he is trying to fashion with Congressional leaders in hopes of being able to enact it shortly after being sworn in on Jan. 20.

Mr. Obama’s remarks sought to expand the definition of traditional work programs for the middle class, like infrastructure projects to repair roads and bridges, while also pushing a federal effort to bring in new-era jobs in technology and so-called green jobs.

Although he put no price tag on it, he said he would invest record amounts of money in the vast infrastructure program, which also includes work on schools, sewer systems, mass transit, electric grids, dams and other public utilities. He vowed to upgrade computers in schools, expand broadband Internet access, make government buildings more energy efficient and improve information technology at hospitals and doctors’ offices…

Mr. Obama and his team are working with Congressional leaders to devise a spending package that some lawmakers have suggested could total $400 billion to $700 billion. Some analysts forecast even higher costs.

A big part of that will be public works spending, particularly on projects aimed at conserving or expanding energy supplies and cleaning up the environment. “We will create millions of jobs by making the single largest new investment in our national infrastructure since the creation of the federal highway system in the 1950s,” Mr. Obama said…

“We won’t do it the old Washington way,” Mr. Obama said. “We won’t just throw money at the problem. We’ll measure progress by the reforms we make and the results we achieve — by the jobs we create, by the energy we save, by whether America is more competitive in the world.” …

A substantial part of the proposed economic package will go toward creating so-called green jobs, those that benefit the environment or save energy. That part of the package could run as high as $100 billion over two years, according to an aide familiar with the discussions.

A blueprint for such spending can be found in a study financed by the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts and the Center for American Progress, a Washington research organization founded by John D. Podesta, who is a co-chairman of Mr. Obama’s transition team.

The study, released in November after months of work, found that a $100 billion investment in clean energy could create 2 million jobs over two years.

Daniel J. Weiss, an environmental analyst at Mr. Podesta’s center, said the government should start by providing fresh money to the beleaguered automakers, preserving hundreds of thousands of jobs, on the condition that they commit to cleaner and more fuel-efficient cars, like plug-in hybrids.

Then, Mr. Weiss said, Washington should invest money in existing programs that create work while cutting energy use, like home weatherization programs that have been chronically underfinanced. Congress authorized $900 million for the federal weatherization assistance program this year but only a third of that has been spent.

Mr. Obama has also spoken of retrofitting schools, post offices and other public buildings with high-efficiency heating and cooling systems and cool-burning fluorescent lighting. Money could also go to mass transit and solar, wind and biofuels projects.

A senior Obama adviser said the transition team was trying to translate his campaign promises into a legislative blueprint. “Part of what we’re doing is taking a look at that entire proposal and seeing what elements could be accelerated and what could be done as a down payment on the larger plan,” the adviser said. “We are also looking for things to the greatest degree possible that would spend out over two years and be a natural short-term investment.” …

Mr. Bingaman noted a huge backlog of maintenance projects at national parks and other federal lands. Such a program would be similar to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps, which built many of the original roads, bridges, trails and buildings on public lands in the 1930s…

Hey, never mind that the first New Deal was a complete and utter failure.

It did help accomplish what Mr. Obama and his lickspittle minions at the New York Times still want to this day.

Sure the New Deal and all of it government projects and programs prolonged the Depression by seven years.

That’s not important. It also started us down the road to socialism.

And Mr. Obama is determined to finish the job.

A blueprint for such spending can be found in a study financed by the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts and the Center for American Progress, a Washington research organization founded by John D. Podesta…

The Center For Americana Progress was founded by Herb and Marion Sandler (of Washington Mutual fame) and George Soros.

Bow down to our new masters.

[Please see our follow up article, Obama's Plan To End The Recession, which presents this "blueprint" in all its glory.]